CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Avicenna J Med 2012; 02(04): 89-93
DOI: 10.4103/2231-0770.110739
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Correlation of epicardial fat and anthropometric measurements in Asian-Indians: A community based study

Ranjan Shetty
Department of Cardiology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India
,
G Vivek
Department of Cardiology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India
,
Kushal Naha
Department of Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India
,
Krishnananda Nayak
Department of Cardiovascular Technology, Manipal College of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal, India
,
Amit Goyal
Department of Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India
,
Lorraine S Dias
Department of Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India
› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Background: It is increasingly evident that visceral adipose tissue plays a leading role in the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome. Unfortunately, accurate quantification of intra-abdominal visceral fat is cumbersome and expensive. Epicardial fat represents the component of visceral fat distributed around the heart, and is readily and non-invasively assessed by echocardiography. Aims: To determine the correlation of epicardial fat with anthropometric parameters in a healthy population of Asian-Indians. Materials and Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted as part of a community outreach program from December to March 2011. Individuals over 18 years of age were included in the study. Anthropometric data was collected for all patients. Epicardial fat was assessed in parasternal long and short axes. Results: 350 healthy individuals were included in the study. Of them, 66.7% were males. Mean age was 42.7 ± 15.3 years (range 18-84). Mean body-mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were 23.3 ± 4.5 kg/m 2 (range 15.2-34.3) and 80.2 ± 13.3 cm (range 43-115) respectively. Mean epicardial fat in both axes was 2.6 ± 1.3 mm (range 0.3-7.0). Epicardial fat measured in both axes correlated well with weight (r = 0.399, P < 0.001), waist circumference (r = 0.522, P < 0.001) and BMI (r = 0.471, P < 0.001). Epicardial fat also correlated with age (r = 0.559, P < 0.001). Conclusions: There is an excellent correlation between epicardial fat measured by echocardiography and anthropometric parameters of metabolic syndrome.



Publication History

Article published online:
09 August 2021

© 2012. Syrian American Medical Society. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Private Ltd.
A-12, Second Floor, Sector -2, NOIDA -201301, India

 
  • References

  • 1 Albu JB, Kovera AJ, Johnson JA. Fat distribution and health in obesity. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2000;904:491-501.
  • 2 Doll S, Paccaud F, Bovet P, Burnier M, Wietlisbach V. Body mass index, abdominal adiposity and blood pressure: Consistency of their association across developing and developed countries. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2002;26:48-57.
  • 3 Rexrode KM, Carey VJ, Hennekens CH, Walters EE, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, et al. Abdominal adiposity and coronary heart disease in women. JAMA 1998;280:1843-8.
  • 4 Rexrode KM, Buring JE, Manson JE. Abdominal and total adiposity and risk of coronary heart disease in men. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2001;25:1047-56.
  • 5 Peiris AN, Sothmann MS, Hoffmann RG, Hennes MI, Wilson CR, Gustafson AB, et al. Adiposity, fat distribution, and cardiovascular risk. Ann Intern Med 1989;110:867-72.
  • 6 Nakamura T, Tokunaga K, Shimomura I, Nishida M, Yoshida S, Kotani K, et al. Contribution of visceral fat accumulation to the development of coronary artery disease in non-obese men. Atherosclerosis 1994;107:239-46.
  • 7 Visscher TL, Seidell JC, Molarius A, van der Kuip D, Hofman A, Witteman JC. A comparison of body mass index, waist-hip ratio and waist circumference as predictors of all-cause mortality among the elderly: The Rotterdam study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2001;25:1730-5.
  • 8 Ross R, Shaw KD, Martel Y, de Guise J, Hudson R, Avruch L. Determination of total and regional adipose tissue distribution by magnetic resonance imaging in android women. Basic Life Sci 1993;60:177-80.
  • 9 Sharma RC, Kramsch DM, Lee PL, Colletti P, Jiao Q. Quantitation and localization of regional body fat distribution - A comparison between magnetic resonance imaging and somatometry. Obes Res 1996;4:167-78.
  • 10 Ross R, Léger L, Morris D, de Guise J, Guardo R. Quantification of adipose tissue by MRI: Relationship with anthropometric variables. J Appl Physiol 1992;72:787-95.
  • 11 Armellini F, Zamboni M, Robbi R, Todesco T, Rigo L, Bergamo-Andreis IA, et al. Total and intra-abdominal fat measurements by ultrasound and computerized tomography. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1993;17:209-14.
  • 12 Ribeiro-Filho FF, Faria AN, Kohlmann O Jr, Ajzen S, Ribeiro AB, Zanella MT, et al. Ultrasonography for the evaluation of visceral fat and cardiovascular risk. Hypertension 2001;38:713-7.
  • 13 Ferrozzi F, Zuccoli G, Tognini G, Castriota-Scanderbeg A, Bacchini E, Bernasconi S, et al. An assessment of abdominal fatty tissue distribution in obese children. A comparison between echography and computed tomography. Radiol Med 1999;98:490-4.
  • 14 Bonora E, Micciolo R, Ghiatas AA, Lancaster JL, Alyassin A, Muggeo M, et al. Is it possible to derive a reliable estimate of human visceral and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue from simple anthropometric measurements? Metabolism 1995;44:1617-25.
  • 15 van der Kooy K, Leenen R, Seidell JC, Deurenberg P, Visser M. Abdominal diameters as indicators of visceral fat: Comparison between magnetic resonance imaging and anthropometry. Br J Nutr 1993;70:47-58.
  • 16 Janssen I, Heymsfield SB, Allison DB, Kotler DP, Ross R. Body mass index and waist circumference independently contribute to the prediction of nonabdominal, abdominal subcutaneous, and visceral fat. Am J Clin Nutr 2002;75:683-8.
  • 17 Alberti KG, Zimmet P, Shaw J. Metabolic syndrome - A new world-wide definition. A Consensus Statement from the International Diabetes Federation. Diabet Med 2006;23:469-80.
  • 18 Wei M, Gaskill SP, Haffner SM, Stern MP. Waist circumference as the best predictor of noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) compared to body mass index, waist/hip ratio and other anthropometric measurements in Mexican Americans - A 7-year prospective study. Obes Res 1997;5:16-23.
  • 19 Rosito GA, Massaro JM, Hoffmann U, Ruberg FL, Mahabadi AA, Vasan RS, et al. Pericardial fat, visceral abdominal fat, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and vascular calcification in a community-based sample: The Framingham Heart Study. Circulation 2008;117:605-13.
  • 20 Thanassoulis G, Massaro JM, Hoffmann U, Mahabadi AA, Vasan RS, O′Donnell CJ, et al. Prevalence, distribution, and risk factor correlates of high pericardial and intrathoracic fat depots in the Framingham heart study. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging 2010;3:559-66.
  • 21 Xu Y, Cheng X, Hong K, Huang C, Wan L. How to interpret epicardial adipose tissue as a cause of coronary artery disease: A meta-analysis. Coron Artery Dis 2012;23:227-33.
  • 22 Sacks HS, Fain JN. Human epicardial adipose tissue: A review. Am Heart J 2007;153:907-17.
  • 23 Karastergiou K, Evans I, Ogston N, Miheisi N, Nair D, Kaski JC, et al. Epicardial adipokines in obesity and coronary artery disease induce atherogenic changes in monocytes and endothelial cells. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2010;30:1340-6.
  • 24 Schiller NB, Shah PM, Crawford M, DeMaria A, Devereux R, Feigenbaum H, et al. Recommendations for quantitation of the left ventricle by two-dimensional echocardiography. American Society of Echocardiography Committee on Standards, Subcommittee on Quantitation of Two-Dimensional Echocardiograms. J Am Soc Echocardiogr 1989;2:358-67.
  • 25 Sahn DJ, DeMaria A, Kisslo J, Weyman A. Recommendations regarding quantitation in M-mode echocardiography: Results of a survey of echocardiographic measurements. Circulation 1978;58:1072-83.
  • 26 Schejbal V.[Epicardial fatty tissue of the right ventricle: Morphology, morphometry and functional significance]. Pneumologie 1989;43:490-9.
  • 27 Kim SJ, Kim HS, Jung JW, Kim NS, Noh CI, Hong YM. Correlation between epicardial fat thickness by echocardiography and other parameters in obese adolescents. Korean Circ J 2012;42:471-8.
  • 28 Bellisari A, Roche AF, Siervogel RM. Reliability of B-mode ultrasonic measurements of subcutaneous adipose tissue and intra-abdominal depth: Comparisons with skinfold thicknesses. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1993;17:475-80.
  • 29 Iacobellis G, Ribaudo MC, Assael F, Vecci E, Tiberti C, Zappaterreno A, et al. Echocardiographic epicardial adipose tissue is related to anthropometric and clinical parameters of metabolic syndrome: A new indicator of cardiovascular risk. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2003;88:5163-8.
  • 30 Ansari A, Rholl AO. Pseudopericardial effusion: Echocardiographic and computed tomographic correlations. Clin Cardiol 1986;9:551-5.
  • 31 Vicennati V, Cavazza C, Garelli S, Pizzi C, Bugiardini R, Rinaldi E, et al. Anthropometric, hormonal and nutritional correlates of epicardial fat in obese women. Endocrine Abstracts 2012;29:1233.
  • 32 Lai YH, Yun CH, Yang FS, Liu CC, Wu YJ, Kuo JY, et al. Epicardial adipose tissue relating to anthropometrics, metabolic derangements and fatty liver disease independently contributes to serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein beyond body fat composition: A study validated with computed tomography. J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2012;25:234-41.